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U.S. Mountain M-1949 Sleeping Bag

this bag may be alittle to heavy and bulky for most people here
but i am confident i can go to 0 degree's with no problem,i was not
even wearing a jacket or heavy thermal underwear,i have already slept down to 8.6 degrees in it,no i would not go on a long distance hike with it,but i
dont section hike the AT in extreme weather,but on shoter hikes and very cold weather i would carry it,at less than 15.00 bucks it gets the job done neo

Neo, when you mentioned that the cover can be left behind (in your other post, I believe), you said that this reduced the weight by something like 2 lbs. Does that mean that this bag weighs around 4-5 lbs without the cover?

Any idea what the outer (shell) material is made of?

What size does thing thing pack down to?

And finally, is that a top-zipper that is shown in the picture? Seems handy for a hammocker .

Neo, when you mentioned that the cover can be left behind (in your other post, I believe), you said that this reduced the weight by something like 2 lbs. Does that mean that this bag weighs around 4-5 lbs without the cover?

Any idea what the outer (shell) material is made of?

What size does thing thing pack down to?

And finally, is that a top-zipper that is shown in the picture? Seems handy for a hammocker .

Thanks!

Jonas

yes the cover is not on the bag its is in the package you have to lace it on with para cord,the bag is good to 0 degree a little over 4lbs,but at 15 bucks for A 0 DEGREE BAG IT is great for very cold and shorter hikes,i like this bag neo

I had one that I used all my years as a scout and even well into my adult years. My dad bought 2 at a garage sale for 5 dollars. The bag material is a pretty light material and was probably quite high tec at the time. I think I still have it stashed somewhere. A few years ago I bought another from Ebay for my son. At least I thought I was buying the same. The material is much heavier with more of a cotton feel and the bag was not down filled. It's a very heavy bulky bag but extremely warm. Good for car camping but not hiking. My son did use it during cold weather camping around here.

rebuilding my M-1949

I can't believe I found this thread! I have had my M-1949 since I was 12. I bought it at scout camp from surplus. Bought it for $10 with the cover. I have slept probably at least 100 nights in this bag. It has by far been my favorite for the 30 years that I have owned it. But the 8.5 lb total weight has started to take its toll on these aging knees.

So, instead of retiring the old girl i'm giving her a knew skin. The fabric had became so frail that there was many tears and repairs over the year. So yesterday I removed all the feathers from it and plan to use the feathers to ake me a new top quilt with an old soul. Looking forward to our new adventures together! :-)

You can see how warn the tag is. As I started removing the stitching it was just ripping in two. The feathers would have easily filled 2 tall kitchen trash bags but I compressed it into one. The zipper and webbing weighed over a pound!

I have two similar ones handed down from a family member...i believe they were used during the vietnam war. I've stitched the holes and have used them ground camping many a time but always figured them to be too heavy and non-packable for backpacking...maybe a car camping trip? How'd you take the down out without making a crazy mess LOL? I get one hole in the thing and it's raining feathers everywhere ahahahahah

Be aware that the "down" has (IIRC) around 20% feathers.
This will affect compressibility.
A rodent ate a hole in mine so I am also contemplating making a Top Quilt.

About removing the down:
The method involves a shop vacuum and a piece of fine netting. You suck the hose full of down and then reverse and spit into a bag. Again, from memory, so details are suspect, but a search on the archives should yield a first hand report.